A History of Chinese Legal Studies. Volume 1, 2

Author: He Qinhua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-10-01
Features: Addressing the current state of research on the history of Chinese legal studies, the introduction and preface of this book first explore questions such as whether there was law in ancient China, whether the study of laws could represent ancient Chinese law, what forms ancient Chinese law took, and its connotations and extensions. It then describes the process of the emergence, development, flourishing, maturity, and decline of ancient Chinese law from Chapter 1 to Chapter 6, elaborating on the characteristics of ancient Chinese law in each stage of its development and its influence on neighboring countries. Finally, the book discusses why ancient Chinese law inevitably declined and its position in the history of Chinese and world academia. Although there remains a gap in comprehensive research on the history of Chinese legal studies both domestically and internationally, the significant achievements in the study of Chinese intellectual and philosophical history in recent years, along with numerous accomplishments in the study of Chinese legal history and the history of Chinese legal thought, as well as the collation, annotation, and translation of a large number of ancient classics, have provided rich material for the writing of this book. If this book has made any contribution to the development of Chinese academia, it is merely to organize and sort out the rich legal heritage of China from a new perspective—the history of law—building upon the achievements of predecessors and peers, and to draw some new viewpoints and conclusions. Additionally, it has conducted preliminary explorations in the system, content, and some fundamental concepts of the history of Chinese legal studies.